No charges against officers who shot, killed man

ROCHESTER — No charges will be brought against the three law enforcement officers who shot and killed Benjamin Shannon at his mother's home at Saks Mobile Home Park on March 10.

The Attorney General issued a press release early Wednesday afternoon absolving the three officers — a Strafford County deputy sheriff and two probation officers — of any criminal wrongdoing.

The report states the only charges the officers could have faced was murder and there was no evidence of that.

No gun or weapon was found on Shannon, but the AG report states Shannon was yelling at the officers and threatening to shoot them before they opened fire.

The issuance of the findings has languished for more than four months while the attorney general's office investigated the case and waited for formal toxicology reports from the Maine medical examiner.

Shannon, 34, who was a suspect in a convenience store robbery that occurred in February, died of gunshot wounds when two probation officers and a Strafford County deputy sheriff attempted to execute an arrest warrant.

The arrest warrant was issued because he allegedly violated his bail conditions connected to the felony robbery charge.

As law enforcement officers attempted to arrest him, Shannon barricaded himself in a room behind a closed door, and then told the officers to back off or he would start shooting. One officer reportedly did back off, but one or more other officers opened fire.

After the shooting, Shannon was transported to Frisbie Memorial Hospital and later to Maine Medical Center, where he died of three gunshot wounds to the arms and torso, according to a report by Maine medical examiner's office. That report was released days after the incident.

Since the shooting, Shannon's family has filed a civil suit against the Strafford County Sheriff's Department and Strafford County Probation Department, alleging negligence, wrongful death, negligent supervision and violation of civil rights.

According to Peter G. McGrath, who is representing Shannon's family, the proper procedure for officers in the March 10 incident was to back off after the confrontation and to contact a supervisor and call for backup.

McGrath previously stated the lawsuit will go forward regardless of what conclusions are made in the AG's investigative report.

McGrath told Foster's the Shannon family would be at his office in Concord late in the afternoon Wednesday for a press conference on the findings of the AG's report and the continued pursuit of the civil suit.